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What's the Secret?
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In the tough world of specialty racing, Roger Gustin is in a league of his own
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By David McGee |
In a sport where many specialty racing series struggle to survive, the Super Chevy Show continues to flourish 24 years after it all began. The secret, according to current series promoter and jet racing legend Roger Gustin, has been to remain loyal to the original concept that mixes drag racing, good exhibition cars, a quality car show and swap meet for those seeking parts or cars for their next project. That formula, Gustin said, still works today.
"It was Dave McLellan's idea. He produced the first one at Orange County (Calif.) and the format was a good one," Gustin said. "I was at that first event testing a new jet Funny Car, but I never thought it would turn into this national series. And neither did Dave." Back then the event was a one-day spectacular called Super Chevy Sunday and featured the backing of Super Chevy Magazine -- a relationship that still continues today. The gathering of bow-tie brand fans gave the magazine's editors access to all kinds of cars and feature subjects and offered enthusiasts of both racing and restoration a chance to mingle "A big part of why people come out is the chance to get their cars in the magazine. That was true then and it's true today," Gustin said. Under the watchful eye of former Argus publisher George Elliott, who later spent time at the helm of IHRA, the all-Chevrolet series expanded across the country. Jet cars and wheelstanders were added to the menu in 1985 and Super Chevy later hosted the first national points series outside of IHRA for Pro Modified cars. With drivers Charles Carpenter, Robbie Vandergriff, Bill Kuhlmann and Gordy Foust headlining the show, the shoebox cars were a hit with spectators in the late 1980s. That popularity spurred series promoters to add the Sunoco Shootout for Pro Modifieds in 1991 and it quickly became the signature attraction at Super Chevy events. However, that popularity ultimately contributed to its undoing, Gustin said. “With the Sunoco Shootout, we had 28 to 31 Pro Mods showing up. Just qualifying all those cars took a lot of time and everybody tried so hard that probably one in every five cars broke. And then it takes time to clean up the track,” Gustin said. “And all the time we're qualifying those cars, the bracket racers are sitting in the lanes. It wasn't long until our bracket car count dropped by an average of 100 cars per event.”
Wanting the event to be equal parts race and show, the qualified Pro Mod program was shelved in favor of an 8-car Pro Mod show that would have less impact on the time schedule. Unfortunately, that show lacked energy, Gustin said. “When we first put Pro Mod in our spectator counts went way up. But Pro Mod got to the point where the drivers would just come in and make their runs, but the long burnouts and the showmanship all went away. There was no excitement,” Gustin said. “I talked to the guys about it three times and they said ‘If you want us to do that you'll have to pay us a lot more money.' And they said ‘If you don't use us, what will you do?' Well, that was the wrong thing to say to me.” A frustrated Gustin discussed his options with IHRA President Bill Bader and exhibition car booking agent Duane Nichols one night in 1995 during dinner in Norwalk, Ohio. “We talked about alcohol Funny Cars and other stuff. Then Bill Bader asked me what I wanted for a feature show and I said supercharged Pro Mods on nitro. Well everybody laughed,” Gustin said. “Well, about that time I got up to go to the bathroom. While I was gone, the name hit me -- Nitro Coupes. When I came back I told them what I wanted was Nitro Coupes and the class was born.”
From birth to fruition was a bit more complicated, Gustin said. Making the class both a reality and a success meant selling the concept all around. “Just like with the jet cars, I had to do a sales job on NHRA to allow it. That probably took six months,” Gustin said. “Nitro is very responsive, so we limited them to 30 percent and set limits on blower overdrive. “Then I went to the biggest mavericks I knew in the business and those are the guys I started Nitro Coupes with. I wanted people who were willing to try something different,” Gustin said. The early heroes in Nitro Coupe included Kuhlmann, Jim Oddy with driver Fred Hahn and Jeff Brozovich. “Well, the first event the next year and we're promoting Nitro Coupes and we had a 28 percent increase in attendance. The next race we were up 24 percent and the next 32 percent. For that whole year our attendance was up an average of 30 percent. That's because nitro is exciting, the showmanship was back and the guys put on a good show,” Gustin said. "The throttle response on these cars with nitro and an overdriven blower is instant. And they never go straight. We've got them limited to a 115-inch wheelbase so they're fun, exciting cars to drive, but they're real safe cars," Gustin said. “Racers being racers, we knew we had to protect them from themselves. So we put a limit of 30 percent nitromethane, and allow them up to 32 percent. If anyone gets caught at 33 percent they're done for the year and they don't get paid for that race. And all this time, we've never found anyone cheating,” Gustin added. The Nitro Coupe show is limited to an 8-car field and usually no more than 10 cars appear at any given event. That, Gustin said, is plenty.
“We only want eight cars. We want to limit the show because there are other things to go see and other things to do at our events,” Gustin said. “If fans want to sit and watch drag racing all day they certainly can, but with the car show, the swap meet, the manufacturer's area and everything else going on, there is plenty to see and do. And, because the (Nitro Coupe) drivers aren't spending all day racing, they have time to spend with the fans.” Even though Gustin sold his own jet car team two years ago, booked in jets and a wheelstander augment the show.
For 2004, the Super Chevy series includes 19 events that stretch from the Northeast to Florida, the Midwest, Southeast, Canada and California. “We dropped three events for this year -- Tucson, Phoenix and Las Vegas,” Gustin said. “There's no magic. If an event doesn't grow we're not staying to beat our heads against the wall. With Las Vegas, they chose to have five major events in five weeks and we were the last one. That may work for them but it doesn't work for us and we couldn't work it out.” This year's tour began in February at Bradenton, Fla., includes a new event in Toronto and will end at Gainesville, Fla., in late October The Super Chevy event at Maple Grove, Pa. is the largest of the series, Gustin said. Indianapolis and Norwalk follow close behind, while events at Memphis, Atlanta and Chicago have shown the most growth in recent years.
“We'll have over 700 cars at Maple Grove, Indy and Norwalk. This year we had over 700 at Pomona. A lot of our events have over 500 cars and 400 to 500 is pretty average,” Gustin said.
A significant number of those cars are bracket racers who usually compete regularly at a given facility. “Bracket racers are king to us. We have a really good bracket program. We try to keep the prices low and the expenses down,” Gustin said. “Our entry fee is $60 and in 24 years that has gone up $10. So you pay $60 to run for $3,000 with $1,500 runner-up and it pays back 16 places. That's a real good deal. I think I've had one complaint about prices and we always have a good field of cars." Super Chevy events have occasionally lost some cars to big money bracket races run on the same date, but those effects have been minimal, he added.
"You get guys who go race for $10,000 but they have to pay out big entry fees and you also get a lot of professional bracket racers at those events. If I lose a few along the way, I'm not that upset. We always have good drag racing for our spectators."
Gustin said his staff has also tweaked the car show format. "We want to try to produce the very best car show we can but we've given the car show back to guys who built their car in the garage behind their house. There are a lot of really expensive, professional $200,000 cars out there. So we established the gold class so those cars could compete among themselves. It's very prestigious to win at Super Chevy and we want everyone to have a chance to do that." So what does the future hold for the Super Chevy series? Not surprisingly, Gustin said there are no plans for major changes. "Whatever business you're in, you cannot stay in a neutral position. You're either going forward or going backwards. We try to work as smart as we can. We have a small staff, but we have some very talented, hard-working people."
Gustin credits his wife Susan's business background with helping to shape the series for the future. Virtually every segment of the event is sponsored, with AutoZone auto parts stores serving as this year's series sponsor. "We want to try and be the best we can be. We're trying to continue to grow events and find new ways to market and reach people," he said. "We've had TV for nine years and the shows still have good ratings. This year we have eight events on ESPN2 through Masters Entertainment and we're pleased with that. We'd like to have even more. You've got to have television in this business."
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